Method of controlling the plasticity of hydrogenated glyceride oil



Patented Apr. 18,- 1939 IHETHOD OF CONTROLLING THE PLASTIC- ITY OF HYDB/OGENATED OIL GLYCERIDE Leslie G. Jenness, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to Intermetal Corporation, Newark, N. J., a corporation of Delaware No Drawing.

Claims.

This invention relates to a method of controlling the plasticity of semi-solid fats produced by hydrogenating glyceride oils and the product resulting therefrom, and more particularly to a method of controlling the plasticity of semi-solid fats prepared from glyceride oils containing substantial quantities of acid radicals of other than the Cu acids, and the resulting product.

As an example of oils containing substantial quantities of other than Cm acid radicals, the fish oils of commerce are made up of a mixture of glycerides having Cm, C and C22 acid radicals with a. small amount of C14 radicals, in which the C20 and C22 acid radicals are present in substan- 15 tial amounts. These fish oils also contain large quantities of higher unsaturates, such as acid radicals with three, four and five double bonds, and probably radicals containing triple bonds are present.

In my copending application, Serial No. 44,635, filed October 11, .1935, I have disclosed how such higher unsaturates of glyceride oils canbe eliminated and mixed glyceride molecules formed in the liquid oil, in order to form a stable liquid oil, and I have further disclosed how, after such pretreatment, the liquid oil can be converted into a highly stable semi-solid fat by a further hydrogenation. This pretreatment largely determines the stability oi the semi-solid fat as the final stability of the fat depends uponthe stability of the pretreated liquid oil and the extent to which acid radicals having more than one double bond remain in the fat. In general, a more stable semi-solid fat can be produced by pretreatment of the liquid oil if the stability of the liquid glyceride oil can be improved by the pretreating operation.

,F'or shortening purposes, semi-solid fats must have suitable plasticity; that is, the congeal point and the Wiley melting point must differ considerably, so that the fat assumes a plastic condition between thetemperature at which the fat congeals and the temperature at which the fat melts. The plasticity of semi-solid fats produced from oils which are almost entirely composed of glycerides having Cm acid radicals, such as the vegetable oils of commerce, can be controlled by the nature of the hydrogenation following the pretreatment operation. By lowering .the temperature of hydrogenation and increasing the rate .of hydrogenation in the final hydrogenation of such oils, the, congeal point and the Wiley melting point may be made to diverge, and a semisolid fat of desired plasticity produced. In general, the lower the temperature of the final hy- Application April 11, 1938. Serial No. 73,934

The plasticity of the Cu glyceride oils may also be increased bydiscontinuing the final hydrogenation before fat .of the hardness desired is obtained and then adding a smallpercentage of vegetable oil stearin, or by adding vegetable stearin before hydrogenation, and then bringing the fat down to the desired consistency. By the latter procedure, the temperature of hydrogenation and the rate 01 hydrogenation may be maintained suificiently high in the final hydrogenation to reduce the acid radicals having two double bonds to a desired minimum in order to obtain stability and still produce a product of the required plasticity. 7

However, with oils containing mixtures of Cm, C20 and C22 acid radicals in which the radicals of higher molecular weight are substantially all unsaturated, neither of these procedures materlally affect the plasticity of the semi-solid fat. I have discovered that in hydrogenating such oils solid fats having the same number of carbon atoms in their acid radicals as the radicals of the unsaturated components of the oils being hydrogenated, must be added to the process either before or after hydrogenation in order to increase the plasticity of the resulting semi-solid fat. For example, in the case of fish oil which contains unsaturated C20 and C22 acid radicals in substantial proportions, as well as Cm acid radicals, a solid fat containing C20 or C22, or at least one of these radicals, in substantial quantity, must be added.

As stated above, this solid is may be added at any time during the process and within the range .of fat hardness suitable for shortening purposes, the result is substantially the same whether the solid fat is added before .pretreatment, after final hydrogenation, or at an intermediate stage. It added before or during hydrogenation, the fat is brought down to the desired. consistency by the final hydrogenation, or it added after the final hydrogenation, thisfinal hydrogenation is merely carried far enough so that the addition of the solid fat will produce the desired consistency. A convenient source of solid fats having the desired acid radicals is the fat resulting from the "substantially complete hydrogenation of the oil being treated. Thus, in order to control plasticity of hydrogenated fish oil, or mixtures of fish and vegetable Oils, substantially completely hydrogenated fish oil may be added.

As a specific example of the practice of the present invention, an oil blend containing '70 parts of whole fish oil, 22 parts of soya bean oil and 8 parts of coconut oil, after being pretreated at 320 F. in accordance with the process of my above-mentioned copending application, was hydrogenated at a temperature of 260 F., also in accordance with the process disclosed in my said copending application, to an iodine number of 72.5 where it showed a Wiley melting point of 32.5 C., and a congeal point of 25 C., or a difference of 7.5 C.

These congeal and melting points are, however, too close together to produce the required plasticity. The blended oils were used in order to show the effect of even a reduced amount of C20 and C22 acid radicals and, furthermore, coconut oil is known to be favorable to increase plasticity. Even under these favorable condi tions in which the amount of C20 and C2: acid radicals had been reduced and coconut oil employed, and an extremely low temperature of hydrogenation used, still the resultant semi-solid fat was not sufiiciently plastic.

To this semi-solid fat, 2% of solid fat, prepared by substantially completely rydrogenating fish oil to the saturated state, was added. The resultant product possessed an iodine number of 10, a Wiley-melting point of 37 C., and a congeal point of 27 C., or a difference of 10 C. The plasticity of this product was entirely in line with commercial shortenings having satisfactory plasticity.

As another specific example, a blended oil having the same proportions of fish oil, soya bean oil and coconut oil was hydrogenated under the same conditions but two parts of completely hardened fish oil was added before hydrogenation. The resulting characteristics were almost identical, at iodine numbers of 70 and '72, with those of the former example to which hardened fish oil had been added after hydrogenation. Further hydrogenation caused a higher congeal point in the presence of the hardened fish oil than occurred when the oil was hydrogenated to the corresponding point before adding the hardened fat.

The reasons why the addition-of solid fat hav-' molecular weight, such as the C20 and C22 acid' radicals. In a semi-solid fat produced from fish oil or blends containing substantial amounts of C20 and C22 acid radicals, the solid phase is composed largely of glycerides having C14 and Cu;

acid radicals, and the liquid phase is composed 1 radicals.

largely of glycerides containing C20 and C22 acid Wiley melting point and the congeal point is caused by a solution of saturated fats in the unsaturated liquid oils, and that solid fats of a given molecular weight are more soluble in liquid oils of the same molecular weight. Thus, adding a C18 solid fat to a semi-solid fat containing C20 and C22 liquid oils does not substantially increase the solution of. solid fats in the liquid oil. However, when C20 and C2: solid fats are added, these readily dissolve in the C20 and C22 liquid oils and the plasticity of the semi-solid fat increases due to the divergence of the Wiley melting point and congeal point caused thereby. Thus, it is necessary to add a solid fat containing acid radicals of the same number of carbon atoms as that of the liquid phase of the oil.

In the claims, the expression "incorporating with said semi-solid fat, is employed to cover and embrace adding the solid fat either before or after hydrogenation or at an intermediate stage of the hydrogenation.

While I have disclosed the preferred embodiments of my invention, and have given a theory of operation, it is understood that the present invention is not to be'limited to any precise theory of operation, nor it is to be limited to fish oils or the details of the present disclosure, but may be varied within the scope of the following claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. The method of controlling the plasticity of a hydrogenated semi-solid fat prepared from glyceride oils including substantial quantities of C18 acid radicals and substantial quantities of other than C18 acid radicals, which comprises adding to said fat a substantially completely saturated solid fat containing substantial quantities of acid radicals having the same number ofcarbon atoms as the acid radicals of the oil beinghydrogenated which have the greater number of carbon atoms.

2. The method of controlling the plasticity of a semi-solid fat prepared by partially hydrogenating oils containing fish oils and having substantial amounts of acid radicals having different numbers of carbon atoms therein, which comprises incorporating'with said semi-solid fat a substantially completely hydrogenated fish oil containing substantial quantities of acid radicals having the same number of carbon atoms as the acid radicals of the partially hydrogenated oil which have the greater number of carbon atoms. 3. The method of controlling the plasticity of a semi-solid fat prepared by hydrogenating glyceride oils containing substantial quantities of C20 and C22 acid radicals and other acid radicals substantially all of which contain less than 20 carbon atoms, which comprises incorporating with said semi-solid fat a substantially completely saturated solid fat containing substantial quantities of saturated C20 and C22 acid radicals. 4. The method ofincreasing the plasticity of a semi-solid fat prepared by hydrogenating fish oil, which comprises adding a solid fat prepared by substantially completely hydrogenating fish oil to the fish oil being hydrogenated.

5. The method of increasing the plasticity of semi-solid fats prepared by hydrogenating a glyc-.

eride oil containing substantial amounts of acid radicals having difierent numbers of carbon atoms therein, which comprises incorporating with said semi-solid fat, a substantially completely saturated solid fat containing acid radicals having the same number of carbon atoms It is probable that a divergence of the as the acid radicals of thehydrogenated oil which have the greater number of carbon atoms.

6. The method of increasing the plasticity of a semi-solid fat prepared by hydrogenating a glyceride oil containing substantial quantities of Craacid radicals andsubstantial quantities of other than Cm acid radicals, which comprises incorporating with said semi-solid iat a fat containing substantial amounts of saturated acid radicals having the same number of carbon atoms as those of said glyceride oil which have the greater number of carbon atoms.

'7. The method of increasing the plasticity of a semi-solid fat prepared by hydrogenating a glyceride oil containing substantial quantities of Cm acid radicalsand substantial quantities of other than Cm acid radicals, which comprises adding to said glyceride oil during hydrogenation, a fat containing substantial amounts of saturated acid radicals having the same number of carbon atoms as those of said glyceride oil which have the greater number of carbon atoms.

8. The method of increasing the plasticity of a semi-solid fat prepared by hydrogenating a glyceride oil including substantial quantities of Cm acid radicals and' substantial quantities of other than Cm acid radicals. which comprises adding to the semi-solid fat a fat containing substantial amounts'oi saturated acid radicals having the same number of carbon atoms as those of said glyceride oil which have the greater number of carbon atoms.

9. The method of increasing the plasticity of semi-solid iats prepared by hydrogenating glyceride oils containing Cu acid radicals and substantial amounts of another acid radical having a greater number of carbon atoms than said C18 radicals, which comprises incorporating 'with said semi-solid fat, a fat containing substantial amounts of saturated acid radicals having the same number of carbon atoms as said other acid radical.

10. The method of increasing the plasticity of semi-solid fats prepared by hydrogenating glyceride oils containing substantial amounts of acid radicals having diiferent numbers oi carbon atoms, the step which comprises incorporating with said semi-solid fat, a fat containing a substantial amount of saturated acid radicals having carbon atoms corresponding in number to the radicals of said oil having the greatest number of carbon atoms.

- LESLIE G. JENNESS. 

